Katara shuddered as another cold wind came howling from the darkness, chilling her to her core. It was cold…not that it wasn't always. Still, she'd never been this far North before. She closed her eyes as anther cold breeze shook the trees and made her shudder and hug herself tightly in a futile effort to keep warm.
She heard stories about nights like this. She remembered how Gran Gran told her about the Long Night and dark spirits hiding in the trees. She remembered how Gran Gran told her they liked to disguise themselves as branches and roots, waiting for the unsuspecting traveler to trip and fall so they could whisk them away.
The perfect story to scare unruly children, Katara suspected.
Of course, Father eventually found out and told Gran Gran to stop telling her those stories.
Still, that was seven years ago, and never had those stories seemed so real as tonight.
She took another step forward, feeling the snow crunch beneath her feet. Something snapped, and Katara gasped, stopping suddenly.
"Katara, are you ok?"
Katara turned her head and looked at her brother. "I'm fine," she said before looking off into the trees again. "I just….let's just move on, ok?"
"Have you been listening to Gran Gran's stories again?" Katara didn't need to turn around to see Sokka's smug expression.
"I said let's keep moving," came Katara's reply.
She pushed herself forward, another shudder running through her as the wind howled past them again.
She looked out into the darkness, scanning the horizon for any hint of fire…something, anything that pointed them toward home.
Nothing.
Another branch snapped under Katara's feet, and in the distance, something swept past the trees, making Katara stop in her tracks.
"Katara, what's wrong?" Sokka sounded concerned. Strange, given his usual sarcasm, Katara thought. But even he seemed to be on edge now.
Katara sighed before looking off into the trees again. "Nothing…let's keep moving,"
She breathed in the cool night air and again looked around as they made their way through the dark wood. Here, the moonlight streamed through the canopy above, painting the forest floor in snow and shadow. She tried to focus, careful not to get her feet stuck in the undergrowth as they made their way through the forest.
Still, she couldn't help but feel like something was off tonight.
They walked deeper into the wood, the snow crunching beneath their feet, shadows playing on the snow-covered ground as the two made their way across. She looked behind her as Sokka trailed closely behind.
She shuddered again and everything fell silent.
"Sokka?"
Behind her, Sokka unsheathed his sword. If even Sokka felt off…
Katara looked around uneasily, summoning a water whip around her.
Why was it so cold?
She peered into the darkness, her eyes darting from the trees to the shadows dancing on the ground—she felt like she was going to suffocate in the darkness as the two of them stood in the dark wood.
Alone.
At night.
With no one else around.
If they screamed, no one would hear them, she realized. The thought filled Katara with dread and made her shudder more than the cold ever could.
Suddenly, something burst through the shadows. Something dark, and cold that knew neither light nor love, the waterbender sensed. It whizzed past them, quickly knocking Katara off her feet and emitting a horrible screech from its mouth.
It had no shape that Katara could tell. It simply moved with the shadows, its limbs appearing and disappearing, forming and vanishing at a moment's notice.
"Katara!"
Sokka rushed toward the spirit, making Katara shout for him to stop, as she quickly jumped back on her feet, summoning a spear of ice into her hands and throwing it into at the beast.
The thing didn't even flinch as the spear pierced its back and disappeared into its dark heart.
Another screech, and a shadow swept through the air and Sokka went flying, landing on against a tree with a hard thud.
It screeched at them, its voice like nothing Katara had ever heard. As shrill as the cracking of ice, almost.
The waterbender got to her feet, summoning another water whip into her her hands and throwing the water against the creature's back, hoping that it would get it away from her brother.
It screamed, turning to face her and throwing a shadowy tendril to wrap around Katara's arm.
She screamed, trying to free herself from the creature's grip, but it was too much. She rooted her feet to the snow, turning the snow around her into ice as she tried to set herself free, but the spirit—whatever it was—was too strong, making the ice shatter and sending her stumbling toward it.
Katara heard Sokka shouting her name only for his voice to be muffled when a shadow coiled around his face.
They were going to die here, Katara realized then. She tried to wrestle herself free, the shadow consuming them despite their struggle.
There was a whispering in the wood, and more shadows seemed to dance around them. Katara closed her eyes. No, she wouldn't think about what that meant.
There was a hot gust of wind then, making Katara open her eyes.
Firebenders?
But no, it couldn't be.
The creature turned its head and screeched at an unseen opponent, and Katara heard the unmistakable sound of boots on snow.
"Let them go," said a voice.
Of course, the thing did not listen, instead gliding into the woods with them in tow until something hit it and made it drop her and Sokka onto the ground.
Katara peered up from where she ay, trying to take a look at the mysterious man to came to them.
The creature lurched backward, screaming as the man sent it flying into the trees.
She gasped as the man's eyes glowed a brilliant white, sending earth, now fire, now water at the shadowy spirit.
"The Avatar?" Katara couldn't believe it.
"Go! run!" the man shouted at them. "I'll handle this."
Katara starred at him for another moment before finally getting up and sending a barrage of ice at the creature.
"No! I can help!" Katara shouted as she got into her stance.
"I said go!" The Avatar took a deep breath and suddenly the forest was alive with light as he sent a great burst of flame at the creature.
"I'm not leaving," Katara asserted. She furrowed her brow, determined now to help the man—Avatar, apparently—defeat it.
The Avatar only looked at her and nodded, accepting their help. "Fine. Just stay close."
Sokka came to their side too, his sword at the ready.
"What is that thing?"
"A dark spirit," The Avatar replied. "They've returned."